Judge Carter Blocks Federal Bid to Hold 20,000 California Ballots

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter rejected a request from the Trump administration on Wednesday to halt processing for up to 20,000 California ballots. The federal government alleged that the individuals on the list were likely noncitizens. Carter warned that segregating the votes at this stage would "wreak havoc" on the ongoing midterm elections.

The ruling lands as more than 3.7 million people have already cast ballots in the state. Carter wrote that eroded trust in democracy is irreparable and that lasting harm occurs once a vote is segregated. He stated that the court declined to be a party to a process where the executive branch discounts votes based on unproven allegations.

The Justice Department filed suit in mid-October after accusing California election officials of missing a 48-hour deadline to review the list. The administration sought an order requiring the state to wait to count those ballots until immigration status was verified. Carter’s order argued that the federal demand violates the National Voting Rights Act, which prohibits changes to voter rolls within 90 days of an election.

Carter noted that segregating ballots now would force counties to develop new sorting methods, risking the disenfranchisement of an unknown number of voters. Court filings indicate that roughly 500,000 ballots had already been processed by this week. Los Angeles County officials testified that this makes it virtually impossible to identify which specific ballot belongs to a particular voter.

The judge also rejected the argument that California was impeding federal law enforcement. Carter pointed to the recent arrest of 28 noncitizens who allegedly voted or registered illegally as proof that prosecutors could enforce the law without disrupting the current vote. He did not appoint a special master to vet government data processes, a step he had previously considered.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the department would immediately appeal the decision. He argued on social media that processing ballots without segregation disenfranchises citizens through dilution. Essayli maintained that holding ballots preserves the status quo and prevents the election from being infected by illegal votes.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said the ruling confirms that states, not the federal government, run elections. He described the Justice Department’s late demands as designed to cause chaos. The federal government’s first appeal in this case was already denied by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.